Always Mine (An MCU Fanfiction)

21. Early Departure

I found myself waking up around 15 minutes after 5:00 a.m. I remembered my last-minute items and packed them before getting dressed in my travel attire. Before leaving the room one last time, I left the note for Craig on the nightstand for him to find. I left my SHIELD badge, not wanting any ties to it.

Austin replied to me and said he and Ellie were eager for me to stay with them for a while. Since working for SHIELD, I have found it challenging to find time to visit my uncle and aunt. I didn't want any of my remaining relatives to be tracked by certain enemies and used against me.

On entering the living room, I saw Peyton and the others already awake. I mentally sighed in relief, noting that my ex wasn't present. Craig was sometimes a late sleeper, so I had to guess Peyton had informed the others of my departure.

"We just wanted to see you off. And make sure you know who didn't wake up and try to keep you from leaving," Nicole explained.

"Thanks, guys," I nodded, gripping one of the straps of my bag.

"Don't stay away for too long," Sean told me.

"You know I won't."

"We'll drive you to the airport and head to IHOP so that your crazy ex thinks we've gone out for breakfast," Peyton suggested softly.

"Thanks. My badge's on the bed. Hand that to Fury when you see 'im," I told everyone.

"We will," Sean agreed, knowing that it was the sign that I cut ties with the agency, but I could never cut myself off from my friends.

After grabbing a water bottle to fill up later, we all headed out the door in quiet mode.

Vince drove the car while Sean rode shotgun. The girls and I were stuffed in the backseat.

"What if he asks about me?" I wondered, "Though I did leave a note for him to find."

"We'll just not tell 'im," Nicole shrugged, as if it were an obvious answer.

"He's a Level 7 agent. The dude's bound to have interrogation methods that neither of us picked up on yet," Peyton crossed her arms. "Which makes me hate that he thinks he's so much better than us."

"Craig's not better than us," Sean corrected her.

"Yeah, he has yet to take on an alien army solo," Vince joked.

"I would love to see that," I smirked, imagining my ex attempting to take out some of the Chitauri like Steve did.

"And don't worry, Case. I'll make sure no hacker tries to trace you. I might even plant a Trojan if they try to do so."

"Thanks, Vince."

It made me feel better that I could trust him with all the information about me.

"And if any of you happen to run into Markus, tell 'im I'm sorry I left in a rush," I added.

"We will," Peyton nodded.

Arriving at the airport, I grabbed my bag from the truck and hugged all of my friends goodbye.

"Call us whenever you can," Peyton told me after letting go.

"I will," I nodded.

After saying farewell, I walked into the building. Since I had just a carry-on, I didn't have to worry about checking in any luggage. I checked for the gate and flight number bound for Dallas/Fort Worth and texted Austin, informing him that I was on my way before getting in line for TSA.

Peyton's POV

Right after Casey headed further into the airport, we left the place, deciding to head to IHOP and grab breakfast, as we had told her earlier.

Just after arriving at the restaurant and sitting in one of the booths, my phone went off, blaring a Green Day ringtone as it vibrated and rang simultaneously. I checked it and saw that it was Craig calling. One of the servers approached our booth and handed us each a menu. While I pressed the decline button, deciding to have Craig leave a message and wait to deal with him in person, I took the menu. I was already in the mood for Belgian waffles topped with strawberries.

"How come you didn't take the call?" Sean wondered as he opened the menu in front of him and reviewed it.

"I'm not letting the jerk ruin our morning," I replied, "Case chose to leave to avoid the likes of him. When we get back home, we're gonna have to put up with 'im."

"And he did lie to all of us," Nicole added.

"Yeah, and not to mention his treatment towards Case, and the threat of taking her away with him," Vince reminded all of us somberly.

We decided to drop the topic on Craig since it was beginning to get on my nerves. I was relieved when our orders arrived at the booth. I dug into my waffles along with eggs and bacon on the side, distracting myself for a while.

Casey's POV

After arriving in Dallas, I made my way through the terminal and found my uncle waiting for me at the baggage claim area. The last time I saw Austin in person was for his wedding. He reminded me of Dad since they were biologically related.

"There she is!" Austin grinned happily as he greeted me with a bear-crushing hug.

"Hey, Oz," I smiled, relieved to see one of my remaining relatives. "How's Ellie?"

"She's great. She's gettin' things ready for ya at home and stoked to see ya again."

Both of us headed out of the building, and I was led to a blue pickup truck.

"Didja quit workin' for the suits?" Austin wondered as he started the engine after we got in.

My uncle was aware of my connections to SHIELD. After learning about my parents' deaths, Austin was against me working for the agency as an asset, but he never gave up on me as an individual.

"Yeah, I did," I nodded, "Especially after learning that my ex lied to me and my friends."

I went on to tell Austin what had happened with Craig. My uncle drove and didn't speak up, letting me have my say.

"Don't worry, Case. If that punk dares to show his face around here, he'll have to go through me first," Austin assured me after I let everything out.

"I can imagine you scaring him off, Texas style," I grinned.

"Ya got that right!"

My uncle drove out of the city into the suburbs. He pulled into the driveway of a one-story house. Ellie came outside smiling in excitement.

"How's my awesome niece?" she grinned as Austin and I got out of the truck.

Like with my uncle, Ellie hugged me super tight.

"Just glad I came out here to see you guys," I smiled after letting go and grabbing my bag.

"I got your room set up," Ellie informed me. "You're probably jetlagged from the flight over."

"Yeah. I only got four hours of sleep."

"There's this neat restaurant that serves Texan BBQed meals. We could go there for dinner tonight," Austin suggested as we all headed inside the house.

"Sure. That'd be fun," I nodded.

Ellie led me into what was the guest room and let me get settled. I was still feeling jetlagged from the trip and the lack of sleep. So, I ended up crashing on the bed. I'd unpack later after dinner.